Lessons From Father to Daughter
He made his first million at the age of 25, by 30 he had a multimillion-dollar business and by 40 he lost it all. His relationship was not stable. My mother wanted to divorce him, he didn’t really knew us –his daughters, he had terrible stomach ulcers, his friends abandoned him, he lost all of our houses and he lost absolutely ALL of his money. He was so busy trying to get richer that he neglected every other aspect of his life. It was when he hit rock bottom that he came to realize what successtruly meant. A series of advice he handed down to me.
1. If you determine success by the amount of money in your bank account you’ll feel like a failure your entire life
When I made my first million I was happy but that happiness quickly faded away and I thought I was poor because I didn’t have 10 million. When I had 10 million I wanted 100 million and so on. It was never enough, I felt like a failure when I had 40 million dollars in the bank, because I didn’t have 100. I wanted to buy you the world, when all you needed was your father.
2. Never quit without putting up a fight
Yes, of course death seemed like an easy way out when everything fell apart. But what kind of man, what kind of human would I have been if I had quitted on life itself. I wanted to make amends; I wanted to win your mother back, the love of life. I wanted to get to know you, my daughters. I wanted to be loved. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to buy you the world, but you never needed the world, you needed a safe roof over your head, healthy food on your plate, a good education and love. All I had provided you with were silly luxuries that were spoiling you rot. And so I fought, I fought like a had never done so in my life.
3. Everything has its time under the stars
Everything in life has a time to plant, a time to grow and a time to harvest. Get to know this. Sometimes is just about getting through the storm and plant again when the storm is gone. Never give up my darling because the sun WILL shine again.
4. All the wealth in the world means nothing in a sick body
Take care of your body; take care of your health, keep your mind healthy. Even if you’re on a yatch in the Mediterranean if your body aches you wont enjoy it. Seeking money and destroying your health is the stupidest way of getting poor.
5. Have a part-time job and a full-time life
Don’t let your job still time away from the people you love. Money is necessary to live but it shouldn’t rule over your life.
6. Share! Share your happiness, share your wealth, share your life
Making others happy is the best way that you can invest on your own. Nothing makes me happier than seeing you happy, seeing you smile. So smile my love so I can smile. Money means nothing if the people around you are miserable, so share the wealth. And the best thing in life is when you get to share your life with amazing people that you feel honored to call your spouse, your children, your family and your friends. So share my darling, because if you don’t, you’ll live in poverty forever.
My father died suddenly in a car accident. He never amassed the great fortune he once had, he never bought me the world, but he got me the best father I ever could of wished for. He provided for us with a comfortable life style, we all got to travel the world, he gave us unconditional support and above all, love. He died in the prime of his life; he was 60 years old and ran five miles every morning. My mother still cries for him, because he became the love of her life. The day of his funeral the church was packed, there were people standing outside.
A man pulled me aside; he said he wanted to shake the hand of the daughter of the man that had saved his life. I didn’t know who he was. He went on to explain how he met my father casually in a restaurant where he was the waiter. He was going through a really hard time and my dad provided him with emotional and economical support. And a friendship that lasted till death brought them apart.
I heard story after story of people I had never met and the lives my father had changed.
My father died a loved man.
